Since I’m trying to avoid sugar in my recipes, when I spotted Stevia in the Raw Zero Calorie Granulated Sweetener in the grocery store, it definitely caught my eye. For years I’ve used Splenda in baked goods, sauces, or dressings, and I’ve always been happy with it. I’ve never considered Splenda to be harmful, and still don’t (despite the occasional comments I get from the “food police” lecturing me for using it.) But I respect the right of everyone to make their own food choices (which is why I never publish those “food police” type comments). I know some people don’t want to use Splenda, and if you’re one of those people, this new product might be a nice option for you.

Of course the first thing people are going to ask me is “How does it taste?” It’s sweet, and I like the flavor even when I just taste it plain, but I do confess I think it tastes best when used with a small amount of brown sugar or agave. If that’s not an option for you, try mixing it with another type of no-calorie sweetener if you want the best flavor.

Which brings us to those food police types who leave comments lecturing me on what I’m eating. I’m going to edit all my past recipes where I’ve used Splenda and add this product as an option, but that may take me a while (I have to edit it on the recipe and the printer-friendly recipe for each one.) Meanwhile if you’re a follower of the blog who’s avoiding white sugar, I’d love you to give this product a try in one of the recipes where you’ve previously used Splenda and let me know how you like it.

And for goodness sakes, if anyone believes this product is harmful in any way, please don’t buy it!

I purchased this Stevia in the Raw Granulated Sweetener myself and the company has no idea that I’m writing about their product. All items featured as Kalyn’s Kitchen Picks are things I will happily buy over and over, and because I want readers to know that my opinions are completely unbiased, I no longer accept sample products of any kind. You can see the complete list of products I’ve chosen under the tab Kalyn’s Picks below the blog header.

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Little Fish Girl, I am still experimenting with it. Besides that one failure as a streusel topping, yesterday I made a recipe where I tried both Splenda and Stevia and the brownies with the Splenda tasted much sweeter. But I am still glad to have this as a more natural alternative for many things.

I would think that Splenda would caramelize. I haven't tried doing it, but given its chemical structure is nearly identical to sugar (with Cl replacing an OH so your metabolism doesn't recognize it as an energy source, which is what makes it "calorie-free") I suspect it. Of course, I haven't tried it, so no experimental evidence.

I will say something that disappoints me about Stevia (and this happens to be the brand I use) is that it seems to want to clump up. I used it in a crumble topping for sweet potato casserole over Thanksgiving, and the stevia formed dough-like chunks when I added margarine to the mixture. It still worked okay, but it does make the Stevia a little harder to work with than sugar or Splenda.

I did try using this on top of some muffins as a streusel topping and was very disappointed; it didn't melt or caramelize at all like sugar does. If you find something that works like that instead of sugar, would love to know about it!

I hope I am not beating to death something that's already been discussed elsewhere, but do any of these sweeteners (in any form) caramelize in a way similar to sugar? I have been trying to duplicate cream fillings and caramelized tops on baked goods and no sweetener seems to do what I want without addition of thickeners or something else complicated.

My grandma has been using Stevia for a long time and I always thought it was way too sweet. Then I bought it to stop eating so much sugar. Some other brands I've tried have a bitter aftertaste, especially the liquids. I totally agree with you Stevia in the raw tastes really good. I haven't baked with it yet so I can't comment about that. I would be scared using it cup for cup would make everything too sweet though. It seems extra sweet to my taste buds. Thanks for posting about it! Since its just a natural product maybe others will jump on board with it and give up sugar or splenda!

I work at the Mayo Clinic Hospital in Phoenix. They just added Stevia in the raw in packets. I have tried it and it isn't as sweet as Splenda. I like it and am glad to see in in a big package like this! Thank you for sharing!

I've been using stevia in my tea for years, since I drink it daily and I like it sweet. You tweeted about Stevia in the Raw and I ran out found me some. Great for baking! Not all stevias taste the same and I may not get my husband to like it, but I do. I made some freezer strawberry jam using pectin and stevia and I should have used less stevia. But, I still eat it! And my 5 year old likes it, too. For those who complain, you have to deprogram your tongue. It's addicted to sugar!

Thank you for posting about this! My husband and son have hypoglycemia (husband has a very severe case), so we *have* to use artificial sweeteners. I always use Splenda, but am happy to hear your thoughts on this.

I'm with you. I do. not. like. it when people try to police me about using Splenda. I get really irritated because I have no choice due to my husband's diet and inability to have sugar at all.

I never quite liked the taste of Splenda in baking. I recently started using Truvia for my iced tea and have been very happy with it- nicely sweet with no aftertaste. Now I'll have to experiment with baking!

I have always found that baking with Splenda produces a slightly bitter, lingering aftertaste. When I do bake, I use agave as my sweetener of choice, but it isn't always a viable option. Plus, I like to limit my overall fructose intake (keeping those triglycerides low!) so I don't always want to use agave even when I can. I have been put off by Splenda in my baking and wonder if Stevia has the same sort of issue with bitterness. Kalyn? Faithful readers? Anyone ever noticed an undesireable aftertaste with Stevia?

Splenda makes makes me break out in a rash so a couple of years ago I started experimenting with Stevia products. I have tried the liquids and various packaged and bulk products. To me, Stevia in the Raw has the best flavor. I haven't tried baking with it yet, but will look into that.

It's very hard for me to understand why someone would type a huge long "food police" type of comment, when I've already said I'm not going to publish that type of comment. And as I said in the post, if you don't want to use this product, then please don't buy it. But have the courtesy to realize that I'm entitled to my own food choices without turning my blog into a sounding board for everyone who doesn't agree with them.

When I started phase one, I bought liquid stevia (blech) and xylitol. I'm not super thrilled with either, and I haven't yet found anything I'm comfortable baking with. I am really excited to try this. Thanks for posting.y

Kalyn,I've used Splenda in some baking recipes. To get good results I've tweaked recipes, essentially following Splenda's recommendations like adding powdered milk, etc. Do you make any tend to alterations to your baked recipes when using this stevia? I bought this a few weeks back when you posted the sorbet recipe. Thanks for the review!

So glad to see this post! I get horrible migraines from Sucralose (Splenda) and get diarrhea from other artificial sweeteners like Aspartame and sugar alcohols. Stevia, although I don't enjoy the taste as much as sugar (haha), doesn't cause these side effects for me so it's a great alternative for those of us that can't tolerate the artificial ones but still want to enjoy something sweet while keeping the sugar levels in check. 🙂 I haven't baked much with it yet so I'm glad to see that it works well! Thanks again for this awesome blog!!